Vancouver, BC – October 15, 2019 – Surge Exploration Inc.(the “Company “or “Surge”) (TSXV: SUR) (OTC: SURJF), (FRA: DJ5C), is pleased to report on the status of the Hedgehog project located near the historic gold mining community of Barkerville in east central British Columbia. The Hedgehog project is subject to an option agreement whereby Surge may earn a 60% interest in the project currently wholly owned by Eastfield Resources Ltd. by making payments (cash and or shares) totalling CAD $500,000 and completing work commitments totalling CAD$2,500,000 over a five year term.
A trenching and excavator pitting program was completed at Hedgehog (Lottie area) in mid-August. Twenty-nine (29) excavations were completed using a large excavator with twenty-five (25) successfully reaching bedrock allowing sampling. Several excavated pits proved to be highly anomalous in nickel and or cobalt with values reaching 673 ppm nickel and 68 ppm cobalt.
Two targets are being explored on the Hedgehog project which is prospective for both Cyprus style massive copper-gold-silver-cobalt mineralization and Barkerville Gold Mines style gold mineralization (see Surge news release dated July 31, 2019 and September 17, 2019).
Two separate areas of mineralization have been discovered at Hedgehog to date. The 2019 work program was focussed on the Lottie area where numerous massive sulfide boulders have been found which are mineralized with copper, silver and cobalt and where a historic placer gold mine is located. A separate area of interest, located approximately ten kilometers to the north of the Lottie area, has been named Golden Sky. Here outcropping quartz veins discovered in 2013 have returned values to 1.51 g/t gold, 1.37% zinc, 0.48% lead, 1,203 ppm arsenic and 1,313 ppm antimony (plus many lesser values). No work was completed at Golden Sky in 2019.
Bedrock mineralization at the historic Barkerville mines was discovered early in the nineteenth century as a consequence of proximity to prolific gold placer mines and outcropping mineralization. At Hedgehog, a historic placer gold mine occurs but very little outcrop exists and other techniques such as mechanical pitting are necessary to explore for mineralization.
The largest exploration program in the vicinity of the Hedgehog project is being conducted by Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX-V:BGM) (“BGM”) which controls a very large claim block extending in a northwest-southeast direction for approximately 75 kilometers. The southern boundary of the Hedgehog project extends to within 500 meters of the BGM lands and is located approximately nine and a half kilometres to the north of the Island Mountain Mine. On July 11, 2019, BGM published a revised mineral resource estimate of 13.5 million tonnes grading 5.6 g/t Au containing 2.44 million ounces gold in the combined and measured category and 11.9 million tonnes grading 5.0 g/t gold containing 1.92 million ounces gold in the inferred category (Ni-43-101 report authored by Christine Beausoleil P.Geo, filed by BGM on Sedar on July 11, 2019). Drilling on the BGM lands totals approximately 400,000 meters in more than 3,400 drill holes and continues with multiple drill rigs in operation.
Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. is currently subject to a takeover bid by Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. announced on September 23, 2019 which values BGM at approximately CAD $338 million. It should be noted that mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s properties.
J.W. (Bill) Morton P.Geo, a qualified person within the context of NI-43-101, has prepared and takes responsibility for this news release.
About Surge Exploration Inc.
The Company is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company which has been active in the resource sector in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada.
Golden Triangle – Trapper Lake Property (Copper Gold), British Columbia
The Company owns 100% interest in the Golden Triangle – Trapper Lake Group of 23 mineral claims which are located in the prolific Golden Triangle Region of northwestern British Columbia approximately 90 km ENE from Juneau, Alaska. Surges’ staking program totals an area of approximately 325 sq. km within the regionally important geological and structural trend. A large portion of the new property is adjacent to the Thorn Project owned by Brixton Metal’s Corp. (“Brixton”, TSXV: BBB) with the balance covering prospective open ground containing numerous B.C. Minfile showings with Cu, Ag, Au values adjoining the boundaries of the Golden Bear Mine, a 480,000 oz Au past producer.
In Brixton’s news release dated July 15, 2019 (Brixton News Release), they reported results from drill hole THN19-150, which was drilled to 829.06 metres depth at the Oban diatreme breccia pipe within the Camp Creek copper corridor. Brixton reported a drill hole intercept of 1.97 grams per tonne gold equivalent across 554.70 meters including 135.96 meters of 1.35 g/t Au, 0.31% Cu, 133.62 g/t Ag or 5.00 g/t Au eq including 6 meters of 3.56% Cu, 3.37 g/t Au, 257.77 g/t Ag. Structural mapping and soil-rock geochemistry at the Chivas zone and relogging of select core from the Glenfiddich zone were also conducted as part of the overall exploration program at the Thorn Project. Of note, mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s properties.
Mineral Mountain Properties (Copper Gold) British Columbia
The Company owns a 100% interest in the Omineca Group of 12 claim blocks which are located in the Omineca Mining Division of north-central British Columbia, approximately 150 km north of Fort St. James. The claims are not subject to any royalty terms, back-in rights, payments or any other agreements and encumbrances.
B.C. Minfile assessment report data indicates that most of the area covered by the Omineca Group claim blocks were at one time or another covered by staking during surges of exploration in B.C. dating from the 1940’s to present day. Largely the claims appear to have been minimally explored with little follow-up. However, some work was recorded on several claims with results for stream sediment sampling showing anomalous to highly anomalous results for gold in a few areas. These areas were recommended for detailed follow-up, however due to a previous commodity price downturn no further work was recorded.
Prominent among early discoveries in the Omineca region were the nearby Lustdust/Stardust property (Sun Metals Corp. TSXV: SUNM) covering a large, coherent integrated porphyry-skarn-manto, epithermal system; the Kwanika property (Serengeti Resources Inc./POSCO Daewoo TSXV: SIR) a promising advanced stage copper-gold project; the Lorraine property (Teck Resources and Sun Metals) host to a significant copper gold NI 43-101 compliant resource. The Surge tenures are located between the Kemess North project being developed by Centerra Gold’s subsidiary Aurico Metals and Centerra Gold’s operation Mt Milligan mine. Of note, mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s properties.
Hedge Hog Property, (Copper Gold) British Columbia
The Company has an option to earn an undivided 60% interest seven mineral tenure covering 2,418 hectares (5,972 acres) located approximately 80 km northeast of the town of Quesnel, BC and 20 km north of the historic gold mining towns of Wells and Barkerville.
Ontario Cobalt Properties (Cobalt) Ontario
The Company has an option to earn an undivided 60% interest in the Glencore Bucke Property and the Teledyne Property, located in Cobalt, Ontario Canada.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
“Tim Fernback”
Tim Fernback
President & CEO
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain forward‐looking statements which include, but are not limited to, comments that involve future events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Except for statements of historical facts, comments that address resource potential, upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt and security of mineral property titles, availability of funds, and others are forward‐looking. Forward‐looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may vary materially from those statements. General business conditions are factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from forward‐looking statements.
